Q1 2026 RV Values: What Black Book Data Means for You

Key Takeaways

• Used RV wholesale values have officially reset to pre-pandemic (early 2020) levels — making Q1 2026 one of the most buyer-friendly markets in years.
• Towable RV average wholesale prices dropped to $15,408 in Q4 2025, down significantly from prior quarters and prior year figures.
• Motorhome values held comparatively steadier, averaging $62,637 wholesale in Q4 2025 — but segment-level demand is now the main pricing driver, not broad market trends.
• If you are buying without a trade-in, you are in the strongest negotiating position you have had since before 2020 — but there is a catch worth knowing about.
• New RV retail sales declined over 11% year over year in November 2025 — and that softness is directly connected to what used RV values are doing right now.

The RV market has done a complete 180 from the pandemic boom years, and if you are buying, selling, or trading in 2026, the numbers tell a very clear story.

The reset has been years in the making. After wholesale values surged to historic highs between 2020 and 2022, the market has spent the last two-plus years correcting itself. As of Q1 2026, used RV wholesale values have returned to levels not seen since before the pandemic, and that shift carries real consequences depending on which side of the transaction you are on. Bish’s RV, one of the largest RV dealership groups in the country, has been tracking these shifts closely and breaking down what the data means for everyday buyers and sellers.

RV Values Have Reset — Here Is What That Means for Your Wallet

The headline is straightforward: used RV prices are down, meaningfully, across almost every category. But the details matter more than the headline. The reset is not uniform across all RV types, and understanding where the biggest drops have landed — and why — is what separates a smart purchase decision from a costly one.

For buyers, this is the market you have been waiting for. Inventory is higher, prices are lower, and dealers are motivated. For sellers and trade-in customers, the picture is less rosy. Values that felt strong even 18 months ago have pulled back sharply, and knowing what your RV is actually worth in today’s market — not what it was worth in 2022 — is critical before you walk into any negotiation.

What Black Book Data Actually Tracks

Black Book is one of the primary data sources the RV industry uses to benchmark wholesale auction values. It collects real transaction data from dealer auctions, wholesale channels, and market activity to produce value estimates that reflect what RVs are actually selling for — not what sellers wish they were worth.

There are a few distinct value types you will encounter when researching your RV:

• Wholesale auction value — What dealers pay for units at auction; the floor of the market and the most accurate real-time signal.
• Trade-in value — What a dealer will offer you for your RV; typically close to wholesale with a margin built in for resale costs.
• Private party value — What you might realistically get selling directly to another buyer; typically sits between wholesale and retail.
• Retail value — The asking price on a dealer lot; the highest tier and the starting point for buyer negotiations.

Most consumers only ever see the retail number, which is why trade-in offers can feel shockingly low. The gap between retail and wholesale is not a dealer trick — it reflects real costs including reconditioning, transportation, holding costs, and resale risk. Understanding this gap is essential before you walk into a dealership expecting retail money on a trade.

Wholesale Auction Values vs. Retail Prices

Wholesale values are the most honest signal in the RV market because they are driven purely by what buyers — in this case, dealers and wholesalers — are willing to pay right now with no emotional attachment to the unit. Retail prices, on the other hand, can lag market conditions by weeks or even months because dealers price inventory based on what they paid for it, not always what the current market supports.

In a declining market like Q1 2026, this lag works in the buyer’s favor. Retail asking prices on dealer lots may still reflect higher acquisition costs from months prior, which means there is often meaningful room to negotiate — especially on units that have been sitting in inventory for 60 days or more.

Why Black Book Is the Industry Standard for RV Valuation

Black Book’s data advantage comes from the volume and recency of its transaction data. Unlike static guides that update on a fixed schedule, Black Book continuously pulls real auction results to keep its values current. For Q1 2026, that means the data is reflecting the actual market weakness from late 2025 — including the sharp new RV sales declines of 7.37% in October and 11.68% in November year over year — rather than historical averages that would soften the picture. For those interested in understanding the broader market, you might want to explore a comparison of recreational vehicles to see how features and prices are expected to evolve in 2026.

Motorhome Values in Q1 2026

Motorhome wholesale values softened in Q4 2025 but held up considerably better than towables. The average wholesale selling price came in at $62,637 — down 2.2% from Q3 2025 and down 1.5% year over year. In the context of a broader market correction, that relative stability is notable.

How Buyer Segmentation Is Driving Motorhome Pricing

Motorhome pricing in 2026 is increasingly being driven by who is in the market rather than broad supply and demand forces. The motorhome buyer tends to skew older, more financially established, and less sensitive to interest rate fluctuations than first-time towable buyers. That demographic stability is acting as a buffer against the sharper value declines seen in entry-level and mid-tier towable segments. Class A diesel pushers and high-end Class C units are holding their values best, while Class B campervans remain in demand due to their fuel efficiency and versatility.

Affordability Pressure Is Replacing Broad Depreciation

The bigger pricing story in motorhomes is not depreciation in the traditional sense — it is affordability constraints filtering out buyers at the lower end of the motorhome market. With interest rates still elevated heading into 2026, buyers who might have stretched into a Class A gas unit are pulling back to towables or sitting out entirely. This is compressing demand at the entry-level motorhome tier while leaving premium units relatively insulated.

What Stable Motorhome Values Mean If You Are Selling or Trading

If you own a motorhome and are considering selling or trading in Q1 2026, the relative value stability compared to towables is a modest advantage — but do not mistake stability for strength. Values are still below their 2022 peaks, and dealer margins on motorhome resales are tight. Coming in with current Black Book data and a realistic expectation will put you in a much stronger negotiating position than relying on what your unit appraised for two years ago.

Condition and service records matter significantly in this segment. A well-documented motorhome with recent service, low miles, and clean cosmetics can command meaningfully more than comparable units with deferred maintenance — especially as dealers are being more selective about what they take in trade given current resale challenges.

Towable RV Values Dropped More — Here Is Why

Towable values have taken a harder hit than motorhomes, and the reasons are interconnected. The towable segment — which includes travel trailers and fifth wheels — experienced the most explosive demand surge during the pandemic boom. That surge pulled millions of first-time buyers into the market, drove manufacturers to ramp production aggressively, and pushed wholesale and retail prices to levels that were never sustainable long-term.

Now the correction is in full force. With average towable wholesale prices sitting at $15,408 in Q4 2025, the market has unwound nearly all of the pandemic-era gains. New RV retail sales data made the situation worse heading into 2026 — October new RV sales fell 7.37% year over year and November dropped 11.68%, signaling that buyer caution was intensifying rather than easing as the year ended. When new sales slow down, dealers stop absorbing used trade-ins as aggressively, which pushes wholesale values down further.

It is also worth noting the connection between new and used pricing. As manufacturers and dealers discount new towable inventory to move units, those lower new prices put direct downward pressure on used values. A buyer who can get a new travel trailer for $28,000 with dealer incentives has very little reason to pay $24,000 for a two-year-old used unit — which forces used prices to adjust accordingly.

Elevated Used Inventory Is Pushing Prices Down

The used RV lot has never been more crowded. Dealers across the country are sitting on elevated inventory levels that accumulated as trade-ins piled up faster than retail demand could absorb them. When supply outpaces demand at the wholesale level, auction prices drop — and that is exactly what the Black Book data is reflecting heading into Q1 2026. Dealers who took in aggressive trades during the 2023 and 2024 model year transitions are now working through that backlog in a market where buyers have more choices and less urgency than at any point since 2019.

Older and Entry-Level Units Are Hit Hardest

Not all towable values are falling at the same rate. The sharpest declines are concentrated in older units — particularly those from 2018 and earlier — and in the entry-level price tier where budget-conscious buyers are most sensitive to financing costs. A 2019 entry-level travel trailer that might have wholesaled for $18,000 in early 2023 could realistically clear auction today in the $10,000 to $12,000 range depending on condition and brand reputation.

Mid-tier and premium towables with strong brand loyalty — think Grand Design Reflection fifth wheels or Airstream travel trailers — are holding relatively better because their buyer base skews more financially stable and brand-loyal. But even those units are not immune. The overall market floor has dropped, and every segment is feeling some gravitational pull downward. Condition, maintenance history, and brand perception are now doing more work to differentiate values than they have in years.

Fifth Wheel Shipments Were Up 30% in Early 2025 — So Why Are Values Falling

RVIA data showed first-quarter 2025 fifth wheel shipments up more than 30% year over year, which sounds like a strong demand signal — but shipment data measures what manufacturers are sending to dealers, not what consumers are actually buying. That distinction matters enormously. Strong shipments into a market where retail sales are declining means inventory is building, not clearing. More units on dealer lots competing for fewer active buyers is a recipe for exactly the kind of wholesale value pressure the Black Book data is showing.

The shipment surge also reflects manufacturer production commitments made months in advance of actual retail conditions. By the time the softness in October and November 2025 new RV sales became apparent, those units were already built and in transit. Dealers absorbed them into already-full lots, which amplified the inventory overhang problem heading into Q1 2026. It is a classic supply chain timing mismatch, and used values are absorbing the consequences.

Is 2026 a Good Time to Buy a Used RV?

For buyers, the short answer is yes — with the right expectations and approach. The combination of lower wholesale prices, elevated dealer inventory, and motivated sellers has created the most favorable buyer conditions since the pre-pandemic market. But timing your purchase intelligently and understanding where the deals actually are will determine whether you come out ahead.

Buyers Without a Trade Are in the Best Position Right Now

If you are walking into a dealership in Q1 2026 with cash or clean financing and no trade-in complicating the deal, you hold significant leverage. Dealers are eager to move aging inventory, and units that have been on the lot for 60 to 90 days or more are prime negotiating targets. Focus your search on towable units from model years 2021 through 2023 — they have absorbed the bulk of the depreciation curve but still have meaningful usable life ahead of them. Asking prices on these units often have 8% to 15% of negotiating room built in, particularly at larger volume dealerships managing high carrying costs on bloated inventory.

What Higher Interest Rates Mean for Your Purchase Decision

Lower sticker prices do not automatically mean lower monthly payments if financing rates remain elevated. RV loan rates in early 2026 are still running meaningfully higher than the historic lows buyers enjoyed in 2020 and 2021, which means the total cost of ownership calculation looks different than it did when everyone was rushing to buy during the pandemic. Running the full financing math — not just the purchase price — before committing is non-negotiable in this rate environment.

Quick Rate Reality Check: $25,000 Used Travel Trailer
• At 4.5% interest over 120 months: approximately $259/month | Total paid: ~$31,080
• At 8.5% interest over 120 months: approximately $310/month | Total paid: ~$37,200
• Difference over the loan term: over $6,100 — more than enough to factor into your purchase price negotiation.

The rate environment also creates an interesting opportunity for buyers who can make a larger down payment. Reducing the financed amount by even $3,000 to $5,000 has an outsized impact on total interest paid over a 10-year loan. If you have been sitting on savings waiting for RV prices to drop — this is the window where combining lower purchase prices with a stronger down payment produces the best long-term outcome.

Credit unions consistently offer lower RV loan rates than traditional banks or dealership financing, often by a full percentage point or more. Getting pre-approved before you shop not only locks in a competitive rate but also positions you as a serious buyer — which is its own form of negotiating leverage in a slow retail market.

Trading In Your RV in 2026: What to Expect

Trading in an RV right now requires a clear-eyed understanding of what the market will bear — not what you paid, not what you owe, and not what you think it should be worth based on what your neighbor got two years ago. The gap between seller expectations and dealer offers is one of the biggest friction points in the 2026 RV market, and it is almost entirely driven by how dramatically wholesale values have shifted.

Why Trade Values Feel Like They Fell Off a Cliff

They did — relative to 2022 peaks, they absolutely did. A travel trailer that wholesaled for $28,000 at the height of the pandemic boom might be clearing auction today at $15,000 to $17,000 depending on age, condition, and brand. Dealers who offer you trade-in values based on current Black Book wholesale data are not lowballing you maliciously — they are reflecting a market where they know they will have to discount the unit aggressively to move it off their lot. Understanding that reality going in will save you enormous frustration at the negotiating table.

The practical implication is that if you owe more on your current RV than it is worth in today’s market — a situation that became extremely common as buyers overpaid during the 2021 and 2022 boom — you are likely carrying negative equity. Rolling that negative equity into a new loan is possible but compounds your financing costs significantly. Knowing your payoff amount and your realistic trade value before you start shopping gives you the full picture of what your upgrade will actually cost.

How to Use NADA and Black Book Together to Negotiate

NADA Guides and Black Book serve different but complementary purposes in a trade negotiation. NADA values tend to run slightly higher than Black Book wholesale figures because they factor in regional retail conditions and are designed partly as a consumer-facing tool. Black Book, by contrast, is grounded in actual auction transaction data and represents the dealer’s cost basis more accurately. For a broader understanding of pricing, consider exploring this recreational vehicles comparison to see how different factors influence value.

The smart approach is to pull both. Walk in knowing your NADA retail value, your NADA trade-in value, and your Black Book wholesale estimate. If a dealer’s offer lands between the Black Book wholesale and the NADA trade-in figure, that is a fair market offer in Q1 2026 conditions. If the offer is below Black Book wholesale on a clean, well-maintained unit, you have room to push back with data — not emotion. Dealers respond to market data because they use it themselves every day.

Upgrades and Condition: What Actually Moves the Needle on Trade Value

In a normalized market, condition does more work than it did during the pandemic when dealers were taking in anything they could get their hands on. Today, dealers are selective, and units that require significant reconditioning — new tires, roof resealing, appliance repairs, upholstery replacement — get discounted aggressively at the wholesale level because those reconditioning costs come directly out of the dealer’s margin. A $1,500 roof repair that you defer before trading in could cost you $3,000 to $4,000 in reduced trade value because the dealer will estimate the repair cost conservatively and add a margin buffer on top. For those considering selling, understanding how much a recreational vehicle costs can provide valuable insights into the potential trade value of your RV.

What Is Coming Next for RV Values in 2026

The correction phase is not over, but the pace of decline is slowing. The most dramatic value drops happened between mid-2022 and late 2024 as the market unwound pandemic-era excess. Heading into Q1 2026, the trajectory is flattening — not reversing, but stabilizing. What comes next depends heavily on three variables: how quickly manufacturers discipline their production output, how retail demand responds to lower prices, and whether new entrants and technologies reshape the used RV landscape in ways that accelerate obsolescence for current inventory.

Inventory Discipline and Production Cuts Are Stabilizing the Market

Several major RV manufacturers began pulling back production volumes in late 2024 and into 2025 in response to the sustained retail softness. When fewer new units enter the pipeline, dealer inventory gradually normalizes, which reduces the downward pressure on used values. This dynamic typically takes 12 to 18 months to fully work through the market — meaning the stabilization effects of those production cuts should start becoming more visible in mid-to-late 2026 wholesale data. For buyers, this means the window of maximum leverage is likely Q1 and Q2 2026 before inventory levels tighten and dealers regain pricing confidence.

New Brands and Electric RVs Could Shift Resale Dynamics

Honda’s rumored entry into the RV market is worth watching closely, and it is not the only new development that could reshape resale values over the next two to three years. Electric and hybrid RV concepts are advancing from prototype to near-production stages, and range-extender powertrains in tow vehicles are changing the calculus for which trucks can realistically pull which RVs. If mainstream EV or hybrid tow vehicles become significantly more accessible by 2027, it could affect the resale appeal of RVs optimized for traditional gas-powered tow rigs. None of this is imminent enough to affect Q1 2026 buying decisions dramatically, but it is a factor worth considering if you are purchasing a unit you plan to hold for five or more years.

What Black Book Data Is Telling You to Do Right Now

The data is sending a clear, consistent message: act as a buyer, move cautiously as a seller, and come to every transaction armed with current numbers. Wholesale values at pre-pandemic levels, elevated dealer inventory, and softening new RV retail sales all point to a market that still has more room to favor buyers before conditions shift. The specific window where lower prices, motivated dealers, and broad inventory selection all align simultaneously does not stay open indefinitely — and the production discipline moves already underway will eventually tighten supply enough to firm up prices. For more insights on RV pricing, check out this comparison of features and prices for 2026.

If you are selling privately or trading in, the strategy is not to wait for values to recover to 2022 levels — that recovery is unlikely in any near-term timeframe. Instead, focus on maximizing the condition and presentation of your unit, getting competitive offers from multiple dealers, and using both NADA and Black Book data as anchors in your negotiation. The sellers who do best in this market are the ones who understand what the data says and work within it — not against it.

Frequently Asked Questions

The most common questions we hear from RV buyers and sellers in 2026 all circle back to the same core issue: understanding what has changed, why it changed, and what to do about it now. For those new to the RV world, our beginner guide to RV driving can provide helpful insights into these changes.

Why Did RV Values Drop So Much After 2022?

The 2020 to 2022 RV boom was driven by a perfect storm of factors — pandemic-era travel restrictions that redirected vacation spending into RVs, historically low interest rates that made large purchases affordable, and a demographic wave of new buyers entering the market simultaneously. Manufacturers responded by ramping production aggressively, dealers took in trades at inflated values, and wholesale prices reached levels that had no sustainable basis in normal demand conditions.

When interest rates rose, consumer confidence softened, and the initial wave of first-time buyers either already owned a unit or stepped back from purchasing, the demand side of the equation contracted sharply while supply remained elevated. New RV retail sales declined 7.37% year over year in October 2025 and 11.68% in November 2025, reflecting ongoing buyer caution. Used values followed new prices downward, as they always do when new inventory is being discounted to move. RVs also depreciate structurally — typically 10% to 20% in the first year and averaging 36% to 38% over five years under normal conditions — so the pandemic-era values were always going to correct; the question was only how fast and how far. For more insights on this shift, check out the Q1 2026 Recreational Vehicles Market Update.

How Do I Find My RV’s Current Black Book or NADA Value?

Getting your current market value requires going directly to the source — and ideally cross-referencing both tools to get a complete picture. For NADA, visit nadaguides.com and navigate to the RV section. You will need your RV’s year, make, model, floor plan, and length to generate a value estimate. NADA will return a low retail, average retail, and in some cases a trade-in range based on regional data inputs. For more insights on RV-related resources, check out this beginner guide to RV driving.

Black Book is primarily a dealer-facing tool, so consumers do not have direct access to the same auction data that dealers use. However, several large dealerships and RV valuation services provide Black Book-informed estimates as part of their appraisal process. Getting two or three dealer appraisals — even from dealerships you are not necessarily planning to trade with — gives you a real-world proxy for what your unit’s wholesale value looks like in the current market.

Step-by-Step: Getting Your RV’s Current Value
1. Visit nadaguides.com and select RVs from the vehicle type menu.
2. Enter your RV’s year, make, model, floor plan, and length.
3. Note the low retail and average retail figures — these represent the consumer-facing range.
4. Subtract 15% to 25% from the low retail figure to estimate your realistic wholesale / trade-in value in Q1 2026 market conditions.
5. Get two to three in-person dealer appraisals to validate your estimate against actual Black Book wholesale data.
6. Use both figures as anchors when negotiating — retail to establish ceiling value, wholesale to understand your dealer’s floor.

One additional step worth taking is checking active listings on RV Trader and Facebook Marketplace for comparable units in your region. Private party asking prices are not the same as transaction prices, but they give you a realistic ceiling for what buyers in your area are currently seeing — and how long units like yours are sitting before selling. Additionally, you might consider exploring the best East Coast RV beach campgrounds to understand popular destinations that could affect demand and pricing.

Are Motorhome Values More Stable Than Towable Values in 2026?

Yes — and the Q4 2025 Black Book data confirms it directly. Motorhome wholesale values averaged $62,637 with a 2.2% quarter-over-quarter decline and a 1.5% year-over-year decline. Towable wholesale values dropped to $15,408 with meaningfully steeper declines on both a quarterly and annual basis. The stability in motorhomes reflects the demographic and financial profile of that buyer segment, while towables have absorbed more of the inventory overhang and affordability pressure from elevated interest rates.

Does Camping Participation Affect RV Resale Values?

Camping participation acts as a long-term demand signal for the RV market, and sustained camping growth supports the floor under RV values over time. When more households are actively camping, the pool of potential RV buyers stays healthy, which prevents wholesale values from falling into freefall even during inventory corrections. The challenge in 2026 is that strong camping interest has not translated into proportional RV purchase activity — partly because camping participation includes tent campers, cabin renters, and glamping guests who may never buy an RV, and partly because affordability constraints are keeping interested buyers on the sidelines despite willing demand.

Should I Sell My RV Now or Wait for the Market to Recover?

The honest answer depends on your specific situation — your unit’s age and condition, your equity position, and your timeline. If you are carrying significant negative equity and have no immediate need to sell, waiting for modest market stabilization in mid-to-late 2026 as production cuts work through the supply chain could reduce your loss. But waiting for a return to 2022 values is not a realistic strategy in any foreseeable timeframe.

If your unit is older — particularly pre-2018 — the calculus changes. Older units tend to depreciate further and faster in a normalized market as newer used inventory becomes available at competitive prices. Holding an aging unit hoping for recovery often results in condition deterioration that compounds the value loss rather than offsetting it. Selling now, pricing competitively based on current Black Book and NADA data, and moving on may produce a better net outcome than waiting.

Private party sales consistently return more than dealer trade-ins — typically 10% to 20% more depending on the unit and market conditions. If you have the time and flexibility to sell directly, listing on RV Trader or Facebook Marketplace with a competitive, data-informed asking price and strong photos is the highest-value exit strategy available to individual sellers in the current market. Be prepared for the unit to sit for 30 to 60 days, price it right from the start rather than starting high and chasing the market down, and be transparent about condition to attract serious buyers quickly.

Recreational vehicles (RVs) have become increasingly popular for family vacations and road trips, offering the freedom to explore the open road with all the comforts of home. However, for those new to the RV lifestyle, understanding the costs involved can be a bit daunting. For a comprehensive breakdown of expenses, check out this guide on how much a recreational vehicle costs, which covers everything from initial purchase to ongoing maintenance.